Regional Act No. 15 on the protection of autochthonous genetic resources of agricultural interest.

The Lazio Region protects autochthonous genetic resources of agricultural interest, including all those spontaneous plants related to cultivated species. This Regional Act shall apply also to species and varieties no longer existing in the Region but conserved at botanical gardens, farms, experimental institutes, public and private genetic banks as well as research centres (art. 1, par. 3). With a view to ensuring the conservation of genetic resources, article 2 provides for the establishment of the Regional Voluntary Register, which shall be divided into two different Sections: 1) Animal Section; 2) Plant Section. The register shall be kept and updated by the Regional Agency for the Development of Agriculture in Lazio (ARSIAL), in compliance with the guidelines to be laid down by the Regional Council within six months from the entry into force of this Act (art. 2, par. 3). Article 3 regards the establishment of the Technical and Scientific Commission for the Animal Sector, on the one hand, and the Technical and Scientific Commission for the Plant Sector, on the other hand. The protection and conservation of registered autochthonous genetic resources shall be enacted by creating a Conservation and Safety Net to be managed and coordinated by ARSIAL. The above-mentioned net shall be in charge of the propagation of such genetic materials too (art. 4). Every three years the Region shall approve a Sectional Plan on Intervention containing guidelines and directives relevant to the protection of autochthonous genetic resources (art. 6). Article 7, paragraph 1 refers to genetically modified organisms, which may not be used on regional protected nature areas. In case of violation of such prohibition, the penalties established by article 7, paragraph 2 shall be applied by the competent Commune.